Prince Harry may be their father, but he will be left completely powerless over one of the biggest life milestones for Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet due to an unyielding, centuries-old tradition. Instead, control over their future rests in the hands of an estranged relative — their uncle, Prince William.
The Prince of Wales has not seen his seven-year-old nephew Archie since 2019 and is believed never to have met his five-year-old niece Lilibet in person. Yet despite the frosty distance and total breakdown in communication between the brothers, William will ultimately control his niece and nephew's destinies.
Legal Requirement for Royal Marriages
Under the strict terms of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, the top six royals in line to the British throne are legally required to obtain the reigning monarch's formal consent before they are allowed to marry.
When William eventually ascends the throne as King, the line of succession will automatically shift, with Archie moving up to fifth in line to the throne, with Lilibet right behind him in sixth place. That means if Archie or Lilibet wish to tie the knot during William's reign, they will be forced to go cap in hand to their uncle for permission — or face devastating consequences.
Consequences of Marrying Without Consent
If any royal in the top six marries without the King's official permission, they and their entire line of descendants are immediately stripped of their rights and cast out from the royal succession altogether.
The strict law was a major point of friction for Prince Harry when he sought the late Queen Elizabeth's consent to marry Meghan Markle in 2017. Writing in his bombshell memoir Spare, the Duke confessed he felt it "didn't make any sense" that a grown man had to ask his grandmother for permission to propose, describing her initial response as "deliberately cryptic".
Historical Precedent and Title Concerns
This isn't the first time the royals have faced the prospect of nieces needing an uncle's sign-off. Before his dramatic 1936 abdication, King Edward VIII sat on the throne as his young nieces, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, grew up. Had Edward not given up the crown for Wallis Simpson, both future royal brides would have had to get their uncle's formal blessing before going anywhere near an altar.
The marriage veto is not the only power William will yield over Harry's children. Royal commentators warn that William could also move to strip Archie and Lilibet of their Prince and Princess titles once he takes the crown. As the children of non-working royals, they could have their titles axed entirely as William works to streamline the monarchy and distance his reign from his brother's endless public attacks.
Biographer Duncan Larcombe previously warned that losing their titles would be a "bitter blow" for the Duke, adding that Archie and Lilibet risk becoming "the innocent victims of any move by William to dissociate himself from his brother".
